google pixel

Phone batteries keep getting smaller and smaller, but if you need a little more juice in day-to-day usage, an extended battery case is one option. ZeroLemon is known for making great battery cases, and the company's Pixel and Pixel XL cases are at an all-time low on Amazon. The Pixel case is now $27.99, and the Pixel XL case is $41.99 (once you factor in the 30% coupon for each). That's a $13 and $16 reduction in price respectively from the usual cost.

ROLI's modular BLOCKS studio has gained popularity recently, as a way to easily create music. Taps and gestures on the BLOCKS turn into musical rhythms when paired to the iOS 'NOISE' app. Now ROLI is making the NOISE app available for Android as well, but it has some limitations.

There are a few reasons why your phone or tablet stops getting Android updates. One reason could be that the maker of your device's processor (e.g. Qualcomm or MediaTek) never updated the drivers for newer versions of Android. This is why no phones or tablets with the Snapdragon 800/801 chip ever officially received Android 7.0 Nougat, including the Nexus 5.

Google announced Project Treble a week ago, which aims to solve this particular problem by separating the Android OS from the 'Vendor interface' (the part with all the low-level drivers and binary blobs). The vendor interface under Project Treble is also designed to be forwards-compatible, meaning that it shouldn't have to be updated for every Android update, in theory.

The Google Pixel is a notoriously hard phone to get a hold of. Persistent stock issues have plagued Google's first "in-house" handset from day one, and things really are little to no better six months after the launch event. Honestly, it's a bit embarrassing just how consistently incompetent Google seems to be at keeping a reasonable inventory of phones available for purchase. But setting that aside, as one of the Pixel's most ardent evangelists, I think there's something it's probably time for me to come clean on: Even if you could buy a Pixel today, I really think you shouldn't.

I admit it. I am a Google fanboy. It’s not that I love Google at the exclusion of any other company. I appreciate the merits of Apple’s business model as well as the thoughtful design of Microsoft's Surface devices. However, there’s something about that #4885ed Google Blue that spices up my life more so than #3b5998 Facebook Blue could ever do. Is it bias? Considering I am legally color blind, the answer is an affirmative yes. However, this bias has not blinded me to the fundamental difference between a company like Google and one like Apple. At Apple, the customer - the revenue generator - is you and me, the consumer.

One of the few differences between the Pixel Launcher and the Google Now Launcher is how you search. The GNL has a search bar spanning the full width of the first home screen, while the Pixel Launcher has a simple Google button that starts a search. Now that appears to be changing, at least for some users.

Google's Pixel and Pixel XL phones are sold in three colors - Very Silver, Quite Black, and Really Blue. While the last color is certainly the most eye-catching, it's only been available in the United States. Google originally stated that the model would only be a temporary US exclusive, and now we are seeing it arrive in other countries - first in Canada with Rogers, and now the UK with EE.

I'm coming up on month three of near-uninterrupted use of the Pixel (specifically the Pixel XL), and as I've spent more and more time with Google's chosen phone, I think I've got a solid list of areas where I think Google could improve the device when a successor is released. While I still think the Pixel is quite easily the best Android phone currently on sale, it's not without compromises, some of which were not readily apparent to me until well after I started using it. Here are five areas I think are ripe for improvement on the Pixel, and that I hope are addressed when we see a new Pixel (again, hopefully) later this year.

If you're in New York City in the next week and own a Google Pixel (or plan on ordering one), you should stop by the Made By Google pop-up location on Mercer Street at Spring in SoHo. Unless you don't want an adorable ugly sweater for your phone, you monster. Google is using a 3D printer knitting machine and yarn to make the little phone garments, and if you're among the first 150 to get one today you could also get a full-sized human ugly sweater like the one in the hero image above.

Hello! If you've arrived at this post, it may be because you're considering buying a Google Pixel and are wondering if it works on your wireless carrier. This is a fair question, as many smartphones only work on certain carriers here in the US. You may also be wondering what the deal is with the Verizon version of the Google Pixel, versus one you buy from the Google Store, Project Fi, or Best Buy. The good news is that there actually isn't much to know: every version of the Google Pixel sold in the United States is SIM unlocked and works on every major carrier, including Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile, and AT&T.